Lebanese رح raḥ frames a situation as future. It is invariant and takes an agreeing bare imperfect: رح اكتب، رح تكتبي، رح يكتبوا. The particle does not conjugate; the lexical verb marks person, gender, and number.
رح is not a fixed translation of English will. The same form supports prediction, intention, plan, or commitment. Compare alternatives on the future guide.
Invariant particle, agreeing bare verb
| Subject | Future | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | رح اكتب | raḥ iktob |
| إنتي | رح تكتبي | raḥ tiktbe |
| هو | رح يكتب | raḥ yiktob |
| نحنا | رح نكتب | raḥ niktob |
| هني | رح يكتبوا | raḥ yiktbo |
رح اكتبلك عنوان الفندق عالواتساب.
raḥ iktoblak ʿenwēn el-fondoʾ ʿal-wātsēb.
I'll write you the hotel's address on WhatsApp. (first-person intention)
هي رح تراجع العقد قبل ما توقع.
hiyye raḥ trēzheʿ el-ʿaʾed ʾabel ma twaʾʾeʿ.
She'll review the contract before signing. (3fs agreement)
هني رح يوصلوا بعد الضهر.
hinne raḥ yūṣalo baʿd eḍ-ḍoher.
They'll arrive in the afternoon. (plural agreement)
Without رح and with رح
The plain b-imperfect can state a habit or schedule; رح + bare explicitly projects a future instance.
الباص بيوصل عالسبعة كل يوم.
el-bāṣ byūṣal ʿas-sabʿa kill yōm.
The bus arrives at seven every day. (schedule/habit)
الباص رح يوصل متأخر اليوم.
el-bāṣ raḥ yūṣal mtʾakhkhar el-yōm.
The bus will arrive late today. (projected event)
Scheduled future can remain a b-form when the schedule itself is asserted. رح adds prospective stance, not simply tomorrow-time. A future adverb alone therefore does not mechanically require the particle.
Prediction and intention
الغيم غامق؛ رح تشتي قبل المسا.
el-ghēm ghāmeʾ; raḥ tishte ʾabel el-masa.
The clouds are dark; it'll rain before evening. (prediction from evidence)
رح إحكي مع المدير اليوم وأعطيك خبر.
raḥ iḥke maʿ el-mdīr el-yōm w-aʿṭīk khabar.
I'll talk with the manager today and let you know. (intention/commitment)
برأيي رح ينجح المشروع إذا ضل معنا وقت.
b-raʾye raḥ yinzhaḥ el-mashrūʿ iza ḍall maʿna waʾet.
In my opinion, the project will succeed if we still have time. (judgment-based prediction)
Questions and negation
Questions keep normal Lebanese order: رح تجي؟ وين رح تروح؟ There is no English inversion. Neutral negation is ما رح + bare imperfect.
إمتى رح تبعتوا النتيجة؟
ēmta raḥ tibʿato n-natīzhe?
When will you send the result? (plural addressees)
ما رح نبعت شي قبل ما يوافق المدير.
ma raḥ nibʿat she ʾabel ma ywāfeʾ el-mdīr.
We won't send anything before the manager agrees. (negative future)
مش كل الطرود رح توصل قبل الجمعة.
mish kill eṭ-ṭorūd raḥ tūṣal ʾabel el-zhomʿa.
Not all the parcels will arrive before Friday. (negation scopes over the quantifier)
The last example does not replace ما رح: مش negates كل, not the future verb.
Particle رح versus lexical راح
Perfect راح means “went” and conjugates: رحت، راحوا. Future رح is shorter, invariant, and followed by another verb.
راح رامي عالمكتب بكير.
rāḥ Rāme ʿal-maktab bkīr.
Rami went to the office early. (lexical perfect راح)
رح يروح رامي عالمكتب بكرا.
raḥ yrūḥ Rāme ʿal-maktab bokra.
Rami will go to the office tomorrow. (future particle plus bare verb)
Do not conjugate future رح or confuse spelling length with rapid pronunciation.
Pronunciation variants
Course production uses رح raḥ. لح laḥ occurs widely in Lebanon (regional/social: Lebanon); reduced حـ and other future markers occur elsewhere (regional: Levant). Recognize them without randomly mixing systems.
لح شوفك بعد الاجتماع.
laḥ shūfak baʿd el-izhtimēʿ.
I'll see you after the meeting. (Lebanese regional/social variant; baseline رح شوفك)
Dialogue
رح تجي معنا عالعشا الجمعة؟
raḥ tizhe maʿna ʿal-ʿasha l-zhomʿa?
Nour: Will you come to dinner with us Friday?
إيه، بس رح اتأخر شوي بسبب الشغل.
ē, bass raḥ itʾakhkhar shwayy b-sabab esh-shoghol.
Jad: Yes, but I'll be a little late because of work.
ما رح نبلش قبلك، ما تاكل هم.
ma raḥ nballesh ʾablak, ma tēkol hamm.
Nour: We won't start without you; don't worry.
Common Mistakes
❌ رح بيروح عالمكتب بكرا.
Incorrect — رح selects the bare agreeing verb.
✅ رح يروح عالمكتب بكرا بعد الاجتماع.
raḥ yrūḥ ʿal-maktab bokra baʿd el-izhtimēʿ.
He'll go to the office tomorrow after the meeting.
❌ رحنا نكتب التقرير بكرا.
Incorrect for future ‘we will write’ — رحنا means ‘we went’.
✅ نحنا رح نكتب التقرير بكرا.
niḥna raḥ niktob et-taʾrīr bokra.
We'll write the report tomorrow.
❌ رح ما يجي اليوم.
Incorrect neutral negation order — ما precedes رح.
✅ ما رح يجي اليوم لأنه تعبان.
ma raḥ yzhe l-yōm laʾanno taʿbēn.
He won't come today because he's tired.
Key Takeaways
Invariant رح selects an agreeing bare imperfect. It can express prediction, intention, plan, or commitment; context supplies the stance. Negate it with ما رح, keep quantifier scope separate, distinguish it from conjugating lexical راح, and treat لح/حـ as labeled variants.
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- رح plus Bare ImperfectA1 — Use invariant رح with an agreeing bare imperfect for Lebanese predictions, intentions, plans, and explicit future framing.
- Present, رح, بد, and Active Participles for Future MeaningB1 — Choose among schedules, predictions, intentions, imminent events, and arranged motion in Lebanese future reference.
- Negating رح FuturesA2 — Build negative Lebanese predictions, intentions, and refusals with ما رح followed by an agreeing bare imperfect.
- عم: Progressive and Discourse ParticleA1 — Use Beirut عم with the b-imperfect for unfolding events, temporary phases, negation, and interactional scene management.
- Motion Participles for Arranged and Imminent EventsB1 — Use رايح and جايي for current direction, arranged movement, and imminent arrival while keeping them distinct from general رح futures.